I wonder if someone would give me a clue here .. none of these pass any variables through.

Not collecting the variables from the frame (which is what I thought happened):
var a=1;
getUrl("page.asp","_blank","GET");

nor appending to url in traditional way, with or without GET:
getUrl("page.asp?a=1","_blank","GET");
or
getUrl("page.asp?a=1","_blank");

The pages load OK, but the name/value pairs disappear.

So I guess I need educating. Anyone willing to give me a clue.